"A couple of lapses in concentration cost us the game tonight, but I'd prefer that errors like these occur during these friendly matches and we learn from them rather than during the Olympics, where these types of mistakes will have more severe consequence," he said.

"Making five changes late in the game disrupts the shape of the team.

"But at this stage it's crucial that we have 18 match fit players for the Olympics.

"We are still building and the performance was very promising when you consider we had a new central defensive partnership and strike force."

Australia got off to a good start, exchanging quick passes to make the pace in the first 15 minutes, but the Japanese started to fight back.

Japan had 16 shots on goal against four for Australia but it was the visitors who took the lead.

The Japanese defenders made an error, allowing forward Nikita Rukavytsya to take the ball.

He sent it to fellow forward Thompson, who struck home the opener in the 34th minute.

Japan evened the score in the 41st minute when midfielder Shinji Kagawa quickly collected a pass from Takayuki Morimoto in the area.

In the Olympics next month, Japan will play Nigeria, the United States and the Netherlands in Group B, while Australia meets Serbia, Argentina and Ivory Coast in Group A.

Earlier in the day, Japan beat Australia 3-0 in the women's tune-up game.

The match was more beneficial for Japan, the Matildas having failed to qualify for Beijing.